


The Moon and the Stars

by caliecat



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Episode Tag, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-25
Updated: 2011-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-15 21:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/165153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caliecat/pseuds/caliecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny sees his life in a new light after the events in Loa Aloha. Coda for Episode 1x18.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moon and the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Alamo Girl for inspiration and review!

He clings tightly to Rachel as they stand in the doorway, rocking gently, soaking up the comfort and compassion she's so freely offering tonight.

This is a new feeling for him. It's not the cold bitterness of their divorce or the fiery heat of their passion but something different, something better.

The warmth of simple friendship.

And for the first time since he came to Hawaii, one missing piece of the puzzle slides into place. Because Rachel and he will always share Grace, their three lives forever entwined, and he needs _that_ to be right before anything else can be.

They finally pull apart and Rachel cups his cheek with her soft hand. "Grace will need to be told in the morning. Shall I do it, or would you...?"

He smiles. If only all of their negotiations had been this easy. "No, Rach, you tell her. I'm afraid I'll still be so angry that I'll just upset her more." His jaw clenches and his hands ball into fist as the pain flares. "He _lied_ to me, he betrayed _all_ of us, he—"

"Daniel." She drops her hand to his arm, rubbing gently. "He's your brother. Family. It will work out, somehow."

 _Family_. He shakes his head. "I don't think—"

"Would you like to come in? I can make tea, coffee, we can talk."

"No, but thank you." He was tired and hurting and raw, but whatever this new thing was between them, and no matter how shitty he felt, at the end of the day she was still another man's wife, and that was a boundary you never crossed.

He takes a deep breath and places his hand over the one still resting on his arm. "Thanks for everything. I mean it."

"Anytime, Danny." Her smile is open and uncomplicated and loosens something tight in his chest. "Call me if you need to."

"I will." He steps back, gives her one last smile of his own, then turns and walks to his car.

~~~~~~~

For once he's grateful for the balmy Hawaiian nights as he speeds down the highway with his windows wide open to catch the sea air. The rush of oxygen clears his head, giving him time and space to sort through the chaos of thoughts and emotions.

This visit was supposed to be special, a family reunion, a time to share old memories and make new ones. And that's how it started, right up until that magical dinner at the Hilton where he was surrounded by everyone he loved, filled with a warmth and sense of belonging he had been seeking since moving here.

Then in an instant it all fell apart, shattering into a thousand lies and deceptions and betrayals.

He thinks about his family back in New Jersey.

His parents, coping with Mom's faltering health and struggling to make ends meet on Pop's firefighter pension, in a state that's almost bankrupt because of people like his brother, dedicating his talent and energy to "get everybody out of their taxes". Sure, Matt said he was kidding, but why believe anything he says now?

And his sisters, trying their best to help but dealing with their own family problems.

It will be up to him, then, as it always is, to fix this, for himself and everyone else. And push down the pain one more time.

His exit comes up and he banks the car to the left, taking the cut-off for the coast. He doesn't bother to phone ahead. 

Steve will be waiting for him.

~~~~~~~

The lights in the windows are glowing like beacons as he pulls into the driveway and parks. He turns the key off but stays in his seat, listening to the ticking of the cooling engine, until he musters the energy to drag himself out of the car and up to the front door. It's unlocked, as expected, so he passes through the living room and into the kitchen, pulls a beer from the fridge and then continues out to the lanai.

At the edge of the shoreline, clearly visible in the moonlight, Steve is sprawled in his favorite chair, cooler at his side, head back and facing the sky. Smiling at the familiar sight, Danny crosses the lawn, steps carefully onto the sand and then sinks into the other chair, his tight muscles uncoiling with relief. He breathes in the perfume of tropical flowers and rests his eyes on the distant horizon, feeling the tension begin to melt away.

They sit like that for a while, the quiet broken only by the rhythmic sound of waves and the rustling of palm fronds in the gentle breeze. He thinks of everything and nothing, trying to wipe out the memory of Matt's face at the airport.

"You okay?"

Steve's voice is soft but still startles him from his thoughts. He steals a glance sideways to see his head tipped back against the chair and his eyes closed, yet he can sense his partner's laser focus on him.

"Maybe. I don't know." He's not exactly sure how he feels, or even how he _should_ feel.

"When you didn't call again, after Matt left...."

He hears the worry and concern behind the unfinished question. Steve knows the ugly details of what happened from Danny's frantic phone call as he drove away from the airport. He remembers the sound of his own voice cracking with pain and the certainty that it was Steve's voice alone that was anchoring him to sanity.

"Sorry, I—" He has to clear his throat to continue. "I was at Rachel's. I told her everything."

"Good. It's a family matter, she needed to know."

 _Family._ What does that really mean, anyway?

Rachel is family and always will be, even though she's married to someone else now.

Matt is family, but a few hours ago Danny held a gun on his own brother and watched him turn against everything Danny believes in.

And what about Steve?

He stood behind him during this entire fiasco, from the time they first spotted the FBI until Matt's final betrayal. Even in that hotel room, when the agents demanded to know Matt's location, forcing Danny to choose between duty and loyalty. He remembers the fleeting instant of panic, his heart in his throat, until Steve caught his eye and sent a silent but unmistakable message.

 _Trust me_. _I've got your back on this, partner._ And he did, spinning a lie so smooth that they bought it without question.

He clears his throat again. "The thing is, I'm not sure where I stand anymore on anything."

Steve sits up and leans forward, his eyes locked on Danny's face.

"I mean, it all used to be so black and white, and now it's like everything is in shades of gray, you know?" His hands cut the air as he struggles to put his thoughts into words. "Look what I did. Going behind the FBI's back, telling Matt about the investigation, letting him get on that plane—hell, I even let _you_ lie for him."

Steve shrugs and waves a hand in dismissal. But it's not that simple. Steve doesn't care much for procedures and rules but that's always with the goal of putting the bad guys behind bars. This time, he helped one go free.

"I'm the big brother, you know? I'm supposed to have all the answers, teach him right from wrong, fix his mistakes and... _this_? Drug cartels? Money laundering?" He runs a hand through his hair, hating the shake in his voice. "He _ran_ , and I couldn't, I don't...."

The words dry up in his mouth. He takes a deep breath and leans back, feeling as sick as did watching that plane take off, and focuses on the bright stars in the clear night sky. As though he would find any answers up there.

"Hey."

Steve reaches over and pats him on the arm, then leaves his hand there, warm and solid. "Did I ever tell you I always wanted a brother?"

He shakes his head no, then turns to face him.

"When I was a kid, I was friends with these two guys who were brothers, and I envied them, I guess, the way they defended each other, the younger one following the older one around all the time like he was the moon orbiting the earth."

He smiles at that. "Since when are you such a poet?"

Steve grins back. "Well, what can I say, I was into science back then and that's what we all called them. Anyway, Mary was too young to do much with me and of course she was a girl, so it wasn't the same. Then later, after we...after my mom died, I really wished I had someone close to my own age to share that with, maybe help make sense of what happened."

He rolls his head back and shifts his gaze to the horizon. "Yeah, well you never know how that's gonna turn out, do you, look at me and—"

"But if I _did_ have a brother," Steve continues, and something new in his tone commands Danny's full attention, "I'd want him to be just like you."

His heart skips a beat or two, growing almost too large for his chest.

The moon shines down on them, bathing everything in her benevolent white light and casting their shadows across the sand. The breeze picks up, tickling the wind chimes under the deck and carrying the sweet sharp scent of the sea.

Another piece of the puzzle slips into place. He tilts his head back and smiles up at the stars.


End file.
